“One more chance! That’s all I’m giving you before you’re fired!” The door slammed shut and Josh was left wondering how he could salvage the situation.
Four months of logistical nightmares were staring him in the face. There was no way the development could be completed after the setbacks, or sabotage as Josh kept trying to convince his boss. Too many coincidences were happening for it to be anything else.
The first month a landslide happened, completely cutting off the road. 3 painstaking weeks of clearing the rocks had to be done at a very expensive cost. The project was already dangerously close to becoming over budget and that tipped the scales.
A few weeks later whole trucks were being stolen and no one could find the culprit. Increasing the security was useless since it just kept happening and more money was being spent. Josh couldn’t handle it anymore. It was one thing to be blamed for your own mistakes, but he knew he did everything right. There was someone behind this, there had to be.
Josh waited at the construction site. He knew his workers were thinking he was crazy, but he couldn’t care about that, not when he had work to be done. The camera felt heavy in his hands, he was stubborn, but he wasn’t stupid. His job was already at risk, he wasn’t going to take chances on his life. Any evidence of sabotage would be enough to clear him of any fault.
It was about 2 AM when he smelled smoke. He knew this was his chance; someone was trying to set the compound on fire. He ran towards the acrid smell with his camera ready.
Three days later his boss tossed the remains of Josh’s belongings in the garbage. “What a waste.” The man never thought that Josh would be a coward, but people had a way of disappointing you. “He probably ran away because it was too much responsibility,” he said to no one in particular “Now I have to clean up his mess.”
The last thing that was left was Josh’s camera. His boss looked through the pictures and saw nothing but tree trunks. “Useless,” He said as he tossed it in the trash.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by the Aniani entry in Myth Museum. Medina. 2015.
Aniani Illustration by Leandro Geniston from Aklat ng mga Anito
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